A/N: Back to Marcus and Company. Let's see how they've been doing since they left the Capital~
-x-X-x-
"Sir Hero, please! You must break free of the Dark General's insidious control! She has worked a Dark and Powerful Hypnosis over you! Only by fighting it with all your strength will you-!"
"Shut. Up."
The anger in his tone does the trick more than the words themselves, or so it feels like. As Marcus glares at the man he's currently tying to a tree with no small amount of vitriol in his gaze, the Paladin falls quiet, flushing and averting his gaze.
… Feels good to let out some of the anger he'd been unintentionally bottling up inside of him. But not so good directing it at what was probably an innocent man. With a sigh, Marcus returns his attention to making sure the Paladin's restraints are tight and not going to come undone without quite a lot of effort. Having forced the man to hug the tree trunk before tying him up in the rope, there's no doubt in Marcus' mind that he'll have to use abilities to break free. And even then…
A glance over to his left shows Roka-Ra going to town on the armor that has been stripped from this Paladin and the rest of his squad. Busting up their gear, renting it asunder and making it all unusable is something the Dark General greatly enjoys, especially since he already told her she couldn't actually kill anyone he didn't allow her to kill. And this particular squad, Marcus had NOT allowed her to kill.
… It'd been a few weeks since they'd fled the Capital. They were far in the North of the Holy Empire now, and every day saw them further from the Capital and closer, hopefully, to their destination. And yet, despite how much distance they'd put between themselves and the seat of the Holy Empire's power… this was the third Church Kill Squad that had come after them so far.
It probably should have been upsetting. Certainly, Marcus shouldn't be feeling as exasperated as he currently is. He supposed if he hadn't known to be on the look out for them, they might have been a lot more dangerous and a lot more effective. As it was, they'd been given a heads up ahead of time… by way of the Holy Pope herself.
Serafina's message to Angelina, cast through their mutual connection to the Most Holy Light, had come as quite a shock to Marcus. For one, why hadn't the Holy Pope used such an ability before? Why had his party been sent a letter directing them to support the Princess if such messaging worked? But to hear Angelina explain it, sending such a message took a lot of power. So much so that only someone like the Holy Pope, with her incredible connection to the Light, could even hope to do it.
As such, it was an incredibly rare occurrence, the sort of thing Serafina only pulled out when she felt she absolutely needed to. Angelina had heard stories of the Holy Pope being able to reach across the Empire and whisper into the ear of anyone in the Church no matter where they were, but this was the first time she'd gotten to experience it firsthand.
It was still rather bewildering. Not only that Serafina had such an ability, but that she would warn them at all. Marcus had begun to wonder if maybe Angelina's initial inclination, back in the Capital, had been right. Should he have gone to Serafina to save Roka-Ra from her fate? But no… no, he stood by his decision. Not just because he felt it was the right thing to do, but because of how the last few weeks had thereafter played out.
As previously mentioned, there had been three Kill Squads so far. But not all of them came from the same source. As Serafina had said in her message, the official story was that General Roka-Ra was somehow ensorcelling Marcus. The first and third Kill Squads had both believed that story. The second Kill Squad however, had clearly been operating under different assumptions and different orders. They'd come not just for Roka-Ra's blood, but for Marcus, Angelina, and Erised's as well. They'd truly lived up to their name, attempting to assassinate him and his entire party.
They didn't succeed, of course. Nor did they survive the endeavor. They were the only one of the three Kill Squads that Marcus had ended up killing to the last man.
For the first Kill Squad, he'd let them live when it became obvious they were under the mistaken impression that they were trying to 'save' him and his party from Roka-Ra's dark, mysterious wiles. Even if they were definitely trying to kill Roka-Ra, she had her armor and was more than capable of shrugging off even their strongest blows, so it wasn't like she was under any real threat. He couldn't bring himself to kill innocent Paladins who thought they were doing what was right.
This latest squad was much the same. Marcus had spared their lives once he and his party had beaten them all into the dirt. Now, he'd spent the last fifteen minutes tying each of them to their own individual tree trunks after stripping them out of their armor. At the same time, Roka-Ra had spent those fifteen minutes destroying their gear, ruining both their armor and their weapons while Angelina cast enough healing to make sure none of them would die from their injuries.
As he finishes checking over the ropes, Marcus lets out a huff of air and grabs the leader of the latest squad by his jaw, forcing him to once more look the half-orc in the eyes.
"Listen to me very carefully. When you and your team break free, do not continue to come after us. You are ill-equipped for the venture, and I will not spare any of your lives a second time. I may not be able to stop the Church from sending you fools after me, but you WILL tell your superiors that the next time my party and I defeat you, we won't be so lenient. So they best send another squad, alright?"
For a moment, there's some fear in the other man's eyes. But to his credit, he gets it under control, his face resolving into determination as he looks right back at Marcus.
"Your mercy is evidence to me that you're still in there, Sir Hero. It may not be us, but eventually others will succeed where we have failed, and free you from the Dark General's clutches. I will tell my superiors this. You need not worry. You will be saved, one day."
Marcus just grunts and rolls his eyes as he releases the other man's jaw. He almost wished he could go back to the days where he was hated and reviled for being a half-orc, rather than being seen as some damsel in need of saving. Almost.
Pulling away from the man, Marcus surveys the clearing. The battle had been short and swift, and the squad of Paladins are all still secured to their individual trees. None of them are making a move to escape right now… but then, if they did they would have to contend with not just him and his party, but also General Roka-Ra, and they would do so without their armor and weapons.
With their Job Abilities, Marcus fully believed they would be just fine getting back to the nearest town and from there contacting the Church. But without armor and weapons, they stood no chance of harming him or his party.
"… Alright, let's go."
Roka-Ra snorts derisively, eyeing the half-naked Paladins with her beady eyes. Angelina pulls away from the last bit of healing she was doing, visibly ignoring the Paladin she was helping as he tries to whisper to her in vain to help them stop the Dark General's rampage. Erised, meanwhile, is back in her Beastkin disguise but clearly not enjoying it. Still, when Serafina let them know via way of Angelina that the Church would be coming for them, it became prudent to hide Erised's true nature once more.
As Marcus and his party, now with one very pissed off Dark General, leave the clearing and continue on their way, the half-orc looks over at Roka-Ra and frowns.
"Are we sure this will work?"
The orc woman grunts, glancing back to make sure they're out of earshot before nodding.
"They've pursued us to the border. We'll pass over it… and then your pet demon will muddy our tracks as we come back in. Should leave the Church hunting for us to the North of the Holy Empire, rather than seeking us out within their borders."
Marcus presses his lips tightly together before nodding. It was a decent strategy. They couldn't go straight to Roka-Ra's source of information, not with the Church hounding them at every turn. But they also couldn't seem to shake the Church so long as they thought they were within the bounds of the Holy Empire. So… leaving and then re-entering from a different spot on the border seemed like their best bet.
The next few hours pass in relative silence as they make their way across the border. North of the Holy Empire is a snowy region, starting with hills that then escalate into massive mountains. Hiding in those mountains, or even going beyond them, would probably be what the Church expected given their trajectory. But in truth, they don't even go beyond the hills before turning back around.
Of course, Erised is then pulling double duty from that point on. The lithe little Demon Assassin has the unenviable task of covering up their tracks after a certain point, so that it looks like they've just vanished into the deeper recesses of the snowy hills. The falling snow helps her, but to really make sure the Church can't follow them, Erised still has to do an awful lot of work.
… Back when the second squad came down on them, Marcus had been caught off guard by their all-encompassing aggression. Not so much that the one who sought to end his life in a single blow succeeded… but he wasn't protecting Angelina like he should have been.
Instead, it had been Erised who saw the blow coming for the back of Angelina's unprotected neck and saved her fellow party member's life. The disguised demon had blocked the Church Assassin's blade with one of her invisible daggers and then slit his throat before he could even blink. In the aftermath, Erised had petulantly tried to claim that she didn't even mean to do it. That her body just moved on its own.
Of course, Angelina hadn't bought that. She'd all but smothered the lithe demon in her bosom in thanks, and Erised has quietly taken it, not exactly fighting back.
He still wasn't ready to forgive her for what she'd done, but Marcus knew he couldn't stay mad at Erised forever. Unfortunately, there hadn't been a good time to really punish her yet either. Nor had he really known HOW to punish her. So far, he'd just forbid her from joining him in his bed these past few weeks. It didn't seem like enough… but her actual punishment might just end up falling to the wayside, given everything they were handling. Meanwhile, her actions were going a long way to helping him forgive her bit by bit and piece by piece.
Marcus had already decided he wouldn't forget what she'd done. He probably wouldn't trust her with anything too important any time soon. But he would probably end up forgiving her sooner rather than later. And maybe… maybe that was okay.
By the time they re-enter the Holy Empire's borders, Marcus has decided he despises snow. It's his first time ever experiencing the cold weather in that form, and one would think he would be struck by wonder. But honestly, he just doesn't like it and he's glad to get out of it. He's equally glad that their plan doesn't involve actually hiding out in the snowy hills and mountains, because he doesn't think he would acclimate very well.
Regardless, as night falls, Erised is completely exhausted from her efforts in covering their trail for the past several hours straight. Marcus doesn't doubt that they've successfully obfuscated where they went from the Church though at least. Still, the end result is that when Erised goes to bed, Angelina joins her, forcing the weakly protesting demon to use her more voluptuous body as a pillow so she can rest.
Marcus prepares to sleep alone, seeing as Angelina will be occupied, but before he can bed down for the evening, Roka-Ra trudges over to him, having removed her armor.
"Well?"
Pausing, having removed most of his as well, Marcus tilts his head to the side, looking Roka-Ra dead in the eye.
"Well what?"
A crooked, tusky sort of grin spreads across the Dark General's face.
"Your girls are enjoying each other's company for the evening. Seems to me you're all alone, your Lordship."
Marcus straightens to his full height, squaring his shoulders and clenching his jaw. He's not an idiot. He's noticed Roka-Ra giving him studying looks for the past few weeks. This is the first time she's propositioned him though. Especially since she was greatly annoyed when he let the first squad of Paladins from the Church live. He'd assumed she would be just as upset about the third squad; truth be told.
"What of it?"
Far from backing down, Roka-Ra steps forward so they're chest to chest and eye to eye. Planting her hands on her hips, the orc woman growls.
"Still think you're an idiot for sparing that Church Scum."
Marcus works his jaw for a moment before snorting derisively.
"And you're a barbaric savage who can't see past the end of your blade. What else is new?"
There's a tense moment… and then Roka-Ra's lips are smashing against his. Her tusks, those of a full-fledged orc, press against his slightly smaller ones. But just because his tusks are smaller, doesn't mean Marcus himself is inadequate. While Roka-Ra initiates the kiss, Marcus quickly takes control of it. Even as her hands go to his head, HIS hands go to her hips and he swings them both around. In an instant, Roka-Ra slams into the ground, specifically into his prepared bedroll, the air driven out of her lungs.
Marcus is on top of her, snarling as he pulls back from her mouth and reaches down, ripping her top straight off of her chest. The beautiful orc woman's green breasts bounce free, even as her muscles bulge. She tries to rally, tries to push up, but Marcus just slams her back down again, pinning her in place.
"No. If we're doing this, it'll be my way."
Roka-Ra snorts at that, her nostrils flaring.
"Life is battle, my Lord. Fucking is fighting. You want it your way? You earn it!"
With that last sentence, she surges upwards… but having so obviously relayed her intent, Marcus is ready for her. Channeling Dark Power, he holds her in place even as she tries to break free. He continues to pin her down despite her struggling… and even manages to do so with just one arm, while the other reaches down between them.
Freeing his cock from his confines is easy enough. Ripping a hole in her pants isn't difficult either. Roka-Ra's beady black eyes still widen when he does so, feeling it as he presses the tip of his throbbing member against her dripping slit.
"Fine then. Consider this earned, bitch."
He thrusts into the Dark General a moment later, and he doesn't wait to see her response or give her a chance to adjust. Roka-Ra has spelled out how she wants this quite well, and so Marcus gives it to her. Hard and fast, unrelenting in his battle for supremacy. Pounding away at her incredibly tight cunt, even as her muscles flex and clench down along every inch of his shaft.
The rest of her is also flexing and rippling, the powerfully built woman gasping for air. It's obvious from the very start that she's unused to being… used. She's definitely not used to being manhandled. Marcus can imagine that if fucking is fighting for orcs, a woman like Roka-Ra almost certainly always ended up on top.
But Marcus' instincts demand that he put the orc female in her place and in this case, his instincts match quite well with what Marcus himself wants to do. And to be fair… Roka-Ra is clearly enjoying every last moment of it as well. She growls and snarls, but also groans and moans. She fights him for control every step of the way but doesn't truly seem to hate that she never succeeds.
Pounding into her on her back gets old after a while though. Marcus has his fun with groping and kneading her breasts, but ultimately holding her down while fucking her grows tedious. It takes too much of his concentration to make sure she doesn't surge upwards and flip them over. As such, before that can happen… Marcus flips HER over.
Pulling out of the Dark General, he acts before she can truly respond. While her brain is trying to catch up with the fact that Marcus has suddenly stopped fucking her, HE has already grabbed her by her hips and thrown her over onto her belly. She doesn't have time to react before he's on top of her, sliding his cock between her flexing thighs and back into her incredibly tight cunt.
With her now face down on the bedroll, holding her in place is a lot easier. Her feet can kick up into his back, but not with enough strength that he feels any pain. Meanwhile, trapping her arms is so damn easy, making it impossible for her to get them under herself and push herself up.
Holding her in this position, Marcus prone bones her into the bedroll next to their flickering campfire for what feels like ages. Roka-Ra, to her credit, stays true to her word and continues her impotent struggling all the while… but she also can't help cumming on his cock more than once as he fucks her snatch into a more fitting shape for his shaft, stretching her out until she's the perfect sheath for his meaty 'blade'.
Finally, as her struggling starts to at long last slow down… Marcus grunts and thrusts into her one final time before beginning to cum. However, he also does something else a little cruel… he grabs Roka-Ra by her hair, a top-knot ponytail, and yanks her head back at the exact moment he fills her. For the last few minutes now, the Dark General has had her face buried in the bedroll to try and muffle her undignified squeals, even as her struggling has become more and more… routine.
Now though, as he cums inside of her and arches her spine, pulling up her head, the response is a beautiful one. Roka-Ra's squealing, ecstatic cries fill the camp and the woods around them, her howl of pleasure carrying through the air as Marcus seeds her right there on the spot.
When he's done, he lets her head fall back down and then follows her, leaning over and whispering in her ear.
"I'm not just your Big Sis' son, Roka-Ra. I'm your new Dark Lord. Don't you ever forget that."
It's a gamble and he knows it. She might come to resent him for going about things in this manner… but he thinks has her measure by now. And indeed, when her response finally comes, the undercurrent of her tone is far more lustful than it is resentful.
"Yes… sir."
Rolling off of her with a grunt, Marcus lays down beside her on the bedroll, allowing her to slowly recover. Staring up into the night sky, he ponders the future and what it might hold. Somehow… he thinks he and his party, Roka-Ra included, are going to be okay. But as far as the rest of the Holy Empire is concerned… he truly has no idea.
-x-X-x-
A/N: Hmm, is Marcus accepting his role as Dark Lord at long last? Or just saying things in the heat of the moment?
Next time we hop back to Serafina, busy little bee that she is.
As always, let me know what you think and I hope you enjoyed!
Chapter 40 will come out on Monday like usual, or you can read six chapters ahead right now over on the P atreon!